Her Producer Megan Ellison Drops Out of Terminator: Genesis

This is a bit of inside baseball, but worth mentioning because of the parties involved -- and the films that are being affected.

Deadline reports that Annapurna Pictures boss Megan Ellison has removed herself financially from the rebooted Terminator franchise. Ellison and her brother David, of Skydance Productions, are the reason the Terminator series lives again, having acquired the rights in auction for some $20 million back in 2011.

David’s Skydance and Paramount Pictures will now finance the planned series of films, beginning with Terminator: Genesis, with the former handling 66% of the cost and the studio taking care of the balance. Megan will still get an executive producer credit.

Megan seemed an odd fit for Terminator anyway. She’s relatively new to the scene, but she’s already helped some amazing films get made -- pictures like Her, Zero Dark Thirty, and The Master, none of which really fit that tent pole approach that Terminator will surely be gunning for. David, on the other hand, has made World War Z, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Seems more his speed.

Terminator: Genesis is gearing up for an April start, starring Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor and Zero Dark Thirty’s Jason Clarke as John Connor. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be back as the titular killer cyborg.